Natural Ways to Kill Aphids | Tips and Spray Recipes

If you don’t want to use chemicals, there are natural ways to kill aphids. A much cleaner and safer approach to combat these pesky garden pests.

Plant Smartly and Carefully

One way to get rid of aphids is to grow the plants that repel them between the rows of your vegetable patches, garden beds and ornamental plants that are particularly loved by aphids. You have to remember that a few plants (consider eggplant) are more vulnerable and preferred by aphids, if planted together they form an ideal place for feeding and development of them. If such plants are grown apart in the garden, it makes difficult for them to reach and infect.

Plants that Repel Aphids

If there are plants like aster and crape myrtle that lure aphids, there are plants that repel them. Grow flowers like marigolds, nasturtiums, and sunflower in your garden. In herbs, plant catmint, lavender, turmeric, ginger, oregano, etc.. Vegetables that aphids don’t like are onion and garlic.

Natural Aphid Spray Recipes

If you have already witnessed the establishment of aphids in the garden, you can spray the plants with these spray recipes, super easy to make. Such household remedies for aphids have the advantage that they are harmless and organic.

Keep in mind that these spray recipes may not work like chemical pesticides and require regular and frequent application.

1. Garlic

Garlic is a strong pest resistant. To make a garlic aphid killer, put 100 g of crushed garlic cloves in 1 gallon of water and leave that for 24 hours. Next day, boil it for 20 minutes for decoction. Fill the liquid in the sprayer for use, when it cools up.

2. Onion

Shred 100 g onions and mix it in 2 gallons of water. Cook it up for 30 minutes. Use it without dilution; it can also be used against fungal diseases. *Extracted spray recipes should be used within a day.

3. Dandelion

Dandelion is not just a weed; there are many medicinal properties in the plant that makes it useful. It can kill aphids too. Bring 400 g (0.8 pounds) of dandelion leaves and pour 10 liters of water in it. Leave it for at least 3 hours and spray this on affected plants, soaking deeply.

4. Nettle

You can use stinging nettle to make an anti-aphid spray. But take care to wear gloves while picking its leaves as it can cause stinging pain and itchiness if you’re sensitive to it.

Pick up 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of leaves from a plant that is not flowering, pour 10 liters of water and leave that for 24 hours. Use it without dilution next day on plants, spraying thoroughly.

Another effective method to use nettle: Harvest 1 kg (2.2 pounds) leaves and pour 2 gallons of water on it. Leave this to ferment for two to three weeks until it becomes clear brown. Use that to kill aphids, mix 1 part of the solution in 7 part water and spray it on plants. Store the remaining solution; you can use it within a month.Read more about natural pesticides

More Tips to Kill Aphids Organically

1.

Spray a strong stream of water on the infected plants to wash off aphids. This is also a good idea to get rid of them organically as sprayed aphids will wash away.

2.

Another organic way to get rid of aphids is the use of essential oils. While they may not kill aphids, but keep them at bay. Peppermint and Lavender oil is good for this purpose. You can also mix them in your spray recipes.

3.

You can also kill aphids by hands if there are not much in numbers. Squash them, don’t forget to wear gloves as they’re sticky.

4.

You can always add ingredients like insecticidal soap and neem oil to intensify the effect of homemade aphid killer recipes given above.

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6.

Aphids and ants work together as a team in our gardens to suck all the life of our plants. Aphids secrete honeydew, which is a most favorite dessert for ants so if you want to control aphids, control ants first or vice versa.

5 COMMENTS

thank you very much for this detailed post shall plant onions to fight both aphids n fungal infections… By the way a small pic of the herbs esply dandellion i gather grows as weed will mk the post very informative n handy pls

I have a lot of milkweed for the Monarch butterflies, and unfortunately every year they are loaded with aphids (and butterflies) – what will these treatments do to the butterflies? I want to get rid of the aphids, but not the butterflies!